The works of American author Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) include many poems, short stories, and one novel. His fiction spans multiple genres, including horror fiction, adventure, science fiction, and detective fiction, a genre he is credited with inventing. These works are generally considered part of the Dark romanticism movement, a literary reaction to Transcendentalism. Poe's writing reflects his literary theories: he disagreed with didacticism and allegory. Meaning in literature, he said in his criticism, should be an undercurrent just beneath the surface; works whose meanings are too obvious cease to be art. Poe pursued originality in his works, and disliked proverbs. He often included elements of popular pseudosciences such as phrenology and physiognomy. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Though known as a masterly practitioner of Gothic fiction, Poe did not invent the genre; he was following a long-standing popular tradition.
Poe's literary career began in 1827 with the release of 50 copies of Tamerlane and Other Poems credited only to "a Bostonian", a collection of early poems that received virtually no attention. In December 1829, Poe released Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems in Baltimore before delving into short stories for the first time with "Metzengerstein" in 1832. His most successful and most widely read prose during his lifetime was "The Gold-Bug", which earned him a $100 prize, the most money he received for a single work. One of his most important works, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", was published in 1841 and is today considered the first modern detective story. Poe called it a "tale of ratiocination". Poe became a household name with the publication of "The Raven" in 1845, though it was not a financial success. The publishing industry at the time was a difficult career choice and much of Poe's work was written using themes specifically catered for mass market tastes.
See main article: Poems by Edgar Allan Poe.
Title | Date | First published in | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Poetry" | 1824 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [1] | |
| "O, Tempora! O, Mores!" | 1825 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | Not authenticated, attribution to Poe is likely incorrect | |
| "Tamerlane" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "Song" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "Imitation" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "A Dream" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "The Lake" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "Spirits of the Dead" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "Evening Star" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "Dreams" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | [2] | |
| "Stanzas" | July 1827 | Tamerlane and Other Poems | ||
| "The Happiest Day" | September 15, 1827 | The North American | ||
| "To Margaret" | circa 1827 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [3] | |
| "Alone" | 1829 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | ||
| "To Isaac Lea" | circa 1829 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [4] | |
| "To The River ——" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | ||
| "To ——" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | Begins "The bowers whereat, in dreams..." | |
| "To ——" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | Begins "Should my early life seem..." | |
| "Romance" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | ||
| "Fairy-Land" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | ||
| "To Science" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | ||
| "Al Aaraaf" | 1829 | Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane, and Minor Poems | ||
| "An Acrostic" | 1829 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | ||
| "Elizabeth" | 1829 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | ||
| "To Helen" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "A Paean" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "The Sleeper" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "The City in the Sea" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "The Valley of Unrest" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "Israfel" | 1831 | Poems by Edgar A. Poe | ||
| "Enigma" | February 2, 1833 | Baltimore Saturday Visiter | [5] | |
| "Fanny" | May 18, 1833 | Baltimore Saturday Visiter | [6] | |
| "The Coliseum" | October 26, 1833 | Baltimore Saturday Visiter | [7] | |
| "Serenade" | April 20, 1833 | Baltimore Saturday Visiter | [8] | |
| "To One in Paradise" | January 1834 | Godey's Lady's Book | ||
| "Hymn" | April 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | ||
| "To Elizabeth" | September 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Republished as "To F——s S. O——d" in 1845 | |
| "May Queen Ode" | circa 1836 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [9] | |
| "Spiritual Song" | 1836 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [10] | |
| "Latin Hymn" | March 1836 | Southern Literary Messenger | [11] | |
| "Bridal Ballad" | January 1837 | Southern Literary Messenger | Originally published as "Ballad" | |
| "To Zante" | January 1837 | Southern Literary Messenger | ||
| "The Haunted Palace" | April 1839 | American Museum | ||
| "Silence–A Sonnet" | January 4, 1840 | Saturday Courier | ||
| "Lines on Joe Locke" | February 28, 1843 | Saturday Museum | [12] | |
| "The Conqueror Worm" | January 1843 | Graham's Magazine | ||
| "Lenore" | February 1843 | The Pioneer | ||
| "A Campaign Song" | 1844 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | [13] | |
| "Dream-Land" | June 1844 | Graham's Magazine | ||
| "Impromptu. To Kate Carol" | April 26, 1845 | Broadway Journal | [14] | |
| "To F——" | April 1845 | Broadway Journal | Republished as "To Frances" in the September 6, 1845, issue of the Broadway Journal | |
| "Eulalie" | July 1845 | |||
| "Epigram for Wall Street" | January 23, 1845 | Evening Mirror | [15] | |
| "The Raven" | February 1845 | American Review: A Whig Journal | [16] | |
| "The Divine Right of Kings" | October 1845 | Graham's Magazine | [17] | |
| "A Valentine" | February 21, 1846 | Evening Mirror | Originally published as "To Her Whose Name Is Written Below" | |
| "Beloved Physician" | 1847 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | Incomplete | |
| "Deep in Earth" | 1847 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | Incomplete | |
| "To M. L. S—— (1847)" | March 13, 1847 | The Home Journal | ||
| "Ulalume" | December 1847 | American Whig Review | ||
| "Lines on Ale" | 1848 | Never published in Poe's lifetime | ||
| "To Marie Louise" | March 1848 | Columbian Magazine | ||
| "An Enigma" | March 1848 | Union Magazine of Literature and Art | ||
| "To Helen" | November 1848 | Sartain's Union Magazine | ||
| "A Dream Within A Dream" | March 31, 1849 | The Flag of Our Union | ||
| "Eldorado" | April 21, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | ||
| "For Annie" | April 28, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | ||
| "To My Mother" | July 7, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | ||
| "Annabel Lee" | October 9, 1849 | New York Daily Tribune | Sold before Poe's death but published posthumously | |
| "The Bells" | November 1849 | Sartain's Union Magazine | Sold before Poe's death but published posthumously |
Title | Publication date | First published in | Genre | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Metzengerstein" | January 14, 1832 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Horror / Satire | First published anonymously with the subtitle "A Tale in Imitation of the German" | |
| "The Duc de L'Omelette" | March 3, 1832 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Humor | Originally "The Duke of l'Omelette" | |
| "A Tale of Jerusalem" | June 9, 1832 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Humor | ||
| "Loss of Breath" | November 10, 1832 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Humor | Originally "A Decided Loss" | |
| "Bon-Bon" | December 1, 1832 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Humor | Originally "The Bargain Lost" | |
| "MS. Found in a Bottle" | October 19, 1833 | Baltimore Saturday Visiter | Adventure | ||
| "The Assignation" | January 1834 | Godey's Lady's Book | Horror | Originally "The Visionary", published anonymously | |
| "Berenice" | March 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Horror | ||
| "Morella" | April 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Horror | ||
| "Lionizing" | May 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Satire | Subtitle: "A Tale" | |
| "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" | June 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Adventure | ||
| "King Pest" | September 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Horror / Humor | Originally "King Pest the First", published anonymously | |
| "Shadow—A Parable" | September 1835 | Southern Literary Messenger | Horror | Published anonymously | |
| "Four Beasts in One—The Homo-Cameleopard" | March 1836 | Southern Literary Messenger | Humor | Originally "Epimanes" | |
| "Mystification" | June 1837 | American Monthly Magazine | Humor | Originally "Von Jung, the Mystific" | |
| "Silence—A Fable" | 1838 | Baltimore Book | Horror / Fantasy | Originally "Siope—A Fable" | |
| "Ligeia" | September 1838 | Baltimore American Museum | Horror | Republished in the February 15, 1845, issue of the New York World, included the poem "The Conqueror Worm" as words written by Ligeia on her death-bed | |
| "How to Write a Blackwood Article" | November 1838 | Baltimore American Museum | Parody | An introduction to "A Predicament" | |
| "A Predicament" | November 1838 | Baltimore American Museum | Parody | Companion to "How to Write a Blackwood Article," originally "The Scythe of Time" | |
| "The Devil in the Belfry" | May 18, 1839 | Saturday Chronicle and Mirror of the Times | Humor / Satire | ||
| "The Man That Was Used Up" | August 1839 | Burton's Gentleman's Magazine | Satire | ||
| "The Fall of the House of Usher" | September 1839 | Burton's Gentleman's Magazine | Horror | ||
| "William Wilson" | October 1839 | The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1840 | Horror | ||
| "The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion" | December 1839 | Burton's Gentleman's Magazine | Science fiction | ||
| "Why the Little Frenchman Wears His Hand in a Sling" | 1840 | Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque | Humor | ||
| "The Business Man" | February 1840 | Burton's Gentleman's Magazine | Humor | Originally "Peter Pendulum" | |
| "The Man of the Crowd" | December 1840 | Graham's Magazine | Horror | ||
| "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" | April 1841 | Graham's Magazine | Detective fiction | ||
| "A Descent into the Maelström" | May 1841 | Graham's Magazine | Adventure | ||
| "The Island of the Fay" | June 1841 | Graham's Magazine | Fantasy | ||
| "The Colloquy of Monos and Una" | August 1841 | Graham's Magazine | Science fiction | ||
| "Never Bet the Devil Your Head" | September 1841 | Graham's Magazine | Satire | Subtitled "A Tale with a Moral"[18] | |
| "Eleonora" | Fall 1841 | The Gift for 1842 | Romance | ||
| "Three Sundays in a Week" | November 27, 1841 | Saturday Evening Post | Humor | Originally "A Succession of Sundays" | |
| "The Oval Portrait" | April 1842 | Graham's Magazine | Horror | Originally "Life in Death" | |
| "The Masque of the Red Death" | May 1842 | Graham's Magazine | Horror | Originally "The Mask of the Red Death" | |
| "The Landscape Garden" | October 1842 | Snowden's Ladies' Companion | Sketch | Later incorporated into "The Domain of Arnheim" | |
| "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt" | November 1842, December 1842, February 1843 (serialized) | Snowden's Ladies' Companion | Detective fiction | Originally subtitled "A Sequel to 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue'" | |
| "The Pit and the Pendulum" | 1842–1843 | The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present | Horror | ||
| "The Tell-Tale Heart" | January 1843 | The Pioneer | Horror | ||
| "The Gold-Bug" | June 1843 | Dollar Newspaper | Adventure | ||
| "The Black Cat" | August 19, 1843 | United States Saturday Post | Horror | ||
| "Diddling" | October 14, 1843 | Philadelphia Saturday Courier | Parody | Originally "Raising the Wind; or, Diddling Considered as One of the Exact Sciences" | |
| "The Spectacles" | March 27, 1844 | Dollar Newspaper | Humor | ||
| "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" | April 1844 | Godey's Lady's Book | Science fiction, Adventure | ||
| "The Premature Burial" | July 31, 1844 | Dollar Newspaper | Horror | ||
| "Mesmeric Revelation" | August 1844 | Columbian Magazine | Science fiction | ||
| "The Oblong Box" | September 1844 | Godey's Lady's Book | Horror / Ratiocination | ||
| "The Angel of the Odd" | October 1844 | Columbian Magazine | Humor | Subtitled "An Extravaganza" | |
| "Thou Art the Man" | November 1844 | Godey's Lady's Book | Detective fiction / Satire | ||
| "The Literary Life of Thingum Bob, Esq." | December 1844 | Southern Literary Messenger | Humor | ||
| "The Purloined Letter" | 1844–1845 | The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present | Detective fiction | ||
| "The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade" | February 1845 | Godey's Lady's Book | Humor | Meant as a sequel to One Thousand and One Nights | |
| "Some Words with a Mummy" | April 1845 | American Review: A Whig Journal | Satire | ||
| "The Power of Words" | June 1845 | Democratic Review | Science fiction | ||
| "The Imp of the Perverse" | July 1845 | Graham's Magazine | Horror | ||
| "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" | November 1845 | Graham's Magazine | Humor | ||
| "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" | December 1845 | The American Review | Horror / Science fiction / Hoax | Originally "The Facts of M. Valdemar's Case" | |
| "The Sphinx" | January 1846 | Arthur's Ladies Magazine | Satire | ||
| "The Cask of Amontillado" | November 1846 | Godey's Lady's Book | Horror | ||
| "The Domain of Arnheim" | March 1847 | Columbian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine | Sketch | Expansion of previous story "The Landscape Garden" | |
| "Mellonta Tauta" | February 1849 | Godey's Lady's Book | Science fiction / Hoax | ||
| "Hop-Frog" | March 17, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | Horror | Subtitled "Or, The Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs" | |
| "Von Kempelen and His Discovery" | April 14, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | Hoax / Satire | ||
| "X-ing a Paragrab" | May 12, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | Humor | ||
| "Landor's Cottage" | June 9, 1849 | Flag of Our Union | Sketch | Originally "Landor's Cottage: A Pendant to 'The Domain of Arnheim'" |
This list of collections refers only to those printed during Poe's lifetime with his permission. Modern anthologies are not included.
American journals that Edgar Allan Poe was involved with include: